Generating tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells in vivo

Immuno-oncology

At Immune Design, we are developing cutting-edge product strategies for effective cancer immunotherapies that we believe take into consideration the limitations of other approaches, as well as leveraging different mechanisms of action to address the risk of reliance on a single approach.

Our product candidates are designed for superior generation and expansion of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to kill tumors, and intended to combine with other mechanisms of action across the oncology landscape, such as checkpoint inhibitors or engineered T cells, to increase the benefit to patients and potentially place Immune Design at a central place in the treatment paradigm.

Immuno-Oncology Approaches

While cancers can be classified in broad categories, tumors are specific to the patient. Our immuno-oncology approach uses the tumor’s specific and individual composition against itself by injecting the therapy directly into the tumor to stimulate an immune attack that spreads throughout the body to attack uninjected tumors.

SPECIFIC ANTIGEN APPROACH

The Specific Antigen approach utilizes selected antigens (either whole antigens or specific epitopes of interest, including neoantigen epitopes) that are also present within a patient’s own tumor in order to educate the immune system to recognize and kill tumor cells that express the antigen/epitopes. One of our lead product candidates, CMB305, was developed under this approach and targets tumors expressing the NY-ESO-1 antigen.

This approach leverages the flexibility of the ZVex vector to deliver potentially any RNA payload to DCs, including multiple conserved antigens, neoantigens, immunostimulatory molecules, and any combination of these anti-tumor agents.

INTRATUMORAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION/ENDOGENOUS ANTIGEN APPROACH

The Intratumoral immune activation, or Endogenous Antigen, Approach does not require knowledge of the presence of a selected antigen within a tumor. Instead, it relies on endogenous tumor antigens that are released during tumor lysis by treatments such as chemotherapy or local radiation. These tumor antigens are captured by dendtritic cells, activated by GLAAS® technology, to generate a broad and varied immune response. G100, developed from the GLAAS platform, is our first product candidate under this approach.